Restaurant's Twinkie giveaway a runaway hit

November 19, 2012|By Zara Husaini @zarhus | RedEye

Dec. 7 update: Chicago Dog House owner Aaron Wolfson reports that he's secured as stash of 500 Twinkies. His deep-fried Twinkie dessert will return to the menu as soon as the shipment arrives today and will continue be sold while supplies last. --Lisa Arnett

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Ho-Hos and Ding-Dongs and Twinkies--before they earned their sexually charged connotations, they were staples of lunchboxes everywhere.

Kids loved the chocolate goodness of Ho Hos and Ding Dongs almost as much as they loved giggling at the mention of their names, but Twinkies were the king of all preservative-laden, obesity-inducing snack foods. They were everywhere and irresistible, and they became positively iconic.

But Twinkies are in danger--Hostess recently announced bankruptcy, which means we may be forced to say goodbye to our beloved Twinkies forever.

Aaron Wolfson, owner of Chicago’s Doghouse, is just one of the people who is mourning the possible demise of the Twinkie.

Wolfson is doing his part to celebrate the life and death of Twinkies. Upon hearing news of Hostess’ financial troubles, he decided to give away free deep-fried Twinkies--the only dessert item on the Chicago Doghouse’s menu--to customers.

The response to the giveaway was enthusiastic, to say the least.

“Last week we went through a crazy amount of Twinkies,” he said.

They gave away more than 200 desserts. Wolfson said the deep-fried Twinkie (smothered in chocolate sauce and cinnamon) is always popular, but it’s never done as well as it did last week.

Even though the restaurant ran out of Twinkies on Sunday, Wolfson hopes the giveaway will continue--but so far, the fate of the Twinkie appears grim.

He hasn't been able to secure an order with Hostess and trips to local supermarkets have been unsuccessful as well--the shelves that usually hold Hostess products have been swept clean, according to Wolfson.